Short stories indian folk tales | The woodcutter and the ax

Once upon a time, there lived a woodcutter named Bhola. Bhola worked in the King’s royal kitchen. His job was to ensure the royal kitchen never ran out of firewood. His routine was to get up early in the morning, mount his horse, and go to the jungle to get firewood.

One fine day, when he got up, it was raining heavily. There was no firewood in the royal reserve, too, as the king had hosted a huge gathering one day prior. Alas, today, it was pouring continuously. Worried, Bhola didn’t know what he should do. He met the king and said, “My Lord, I am quitting my job as the royal woodcutter. I failed to provide firewood to the royal kitchen this morning. I am not the best in my work.”

The queen, also in the room, said, “But my Lord, we have enough food from last evening's gathering. We don’t need firewood for the next two days.”

The King and queen told Bhola it was not his fault, but Bhola insisted on quitting the job.

The king asked him to give his axe to him and asked him to promise not to do woodcutting ever. He gave his axe to the king and promised the king that he would do as he said.

“You have given your axe to me; now you can leave,” said the King.

Bhola left the palace. He only took his clothes and coins he had saved from his salary. He reached his village. Every day, he missed his axe dearly. Bhola thought about what job he could do apart from woodcutting. Soon, his coins and savings were over, and he had not considered a new job.

He returned to the palace, told the King what he felt, and asked him to return his axe.

King laughed and said, “Now you realize that to do your job, you need not be the best, but you need to be sincere. That you are. You missed your axe, and you love your job very sincerely. Rains were just a situation that was out of your control.”

Bhola happily took his axe back and joined back as the royal woodcutter.

Moral- Don’t try to become the best; try to be sincere.

Happy reading!

Check out Nisha B Thakur's highly appreciated novel, The Unexpected Trail.